YAY for new clothes!!! Yay for Christmas gift cards and money!! Yay for season end sales!!

**sniff sniff...** "I would like to thank...*sniff*... my wonderful husband... *sniffle*... for the awesome gift card that he gave me for Christmas... *sniff*... and my awesome mother-in-law... she gave us some money for Christmas.... and it made it possible for me to look so darn cute in my new clothes...*sniff*... I really could not be where I am today without them... they are so good to me! *sniffle* Thank you!!

Monday, December 27, 2010

I took a little Christmas break from posting every day. So I'm starting at day 8 and continuing on.

My rude alarm clock rang this morning and I thought "There is absolutely no way I am going to get up. I'm calling in sick." My nice warm bed and my husband's nice, strong arm wrapped around me was definitely calling my name and moving was the last thing I wanted to do.
After pushing snooze about 6 times, Dave's strong arms became a little too strong as he pushed me out of my warm, cozy bed and into the cold, hard world.
So I dedicate this song to today. May your covers be warm and cozy and may your husband not be as strong as mine. Go ahead and waste away the day.

Monday, December 20, 2010

I'm going to take a little pause out of my 30 day blog posting for few Christmas posts.

I'm having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year. I don't know what it is, but I find myself being a little bit of a Scrooge this year. Last night we had a huge extended family Christmas party in Pocatello. It was for my mom's side of the family.We had a huge dinner and then had a little program. We all sat in a big circle and each of the families had their own little Christmas story or thought to share. My Dad shared a little Christmas wish list that he wrote several years ago. This list was published in a few magazines and newspapers. I think this wish list captures a few of the things that I have been hoping and wishing for too, so I wanted to share it here. Please note that you do not have permission to copy or use or publish this poem except if you have special permission from me or my dad, Jason Dahl.

These Are My Wishes for the Christmas Season

By Jason Dahl

I wish people could see themselves Christmas shopping.

I wish for more kindness for drivers everywhere.

I wish I were as happy about snow in March as in December.

I wish there was a Santa Claus.

I wish that people could realize that:

What you do is more important than what you have;

What you say has meaning;

Bell ringers are people too;

The postman is a little stressed now;

Christmas is for kids;

Being a kid at heart counts as being a kid;

Your sled goes faster is you laugh and scream;

Marshmallows are a required ingredient in hot cocoa;

Reading to your children is a present.

I wish I knew the answers to all my children's questions.
I wish I were a wise man.
I wish i didn't have a belly like a bowl full of jelly.
I wish everyone could:

Hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in person;

Give more away than they keep;

Have a baby of their own around Christmas;

Smile;

See the Christ child;

I wish I had a sport utility vehicle.
I wish I could grow a long gray beard.
I am glad I'm not gray.
I wish everyone could experience:

Hunger, for empathy;

Poverty, for thankfulness;

Plenty, for generosity;

Repentance, for forgiveness.

I wish that everyone who asked "How are you?" wanted to know how I am.
I wish for solitude.
I wish for companionship.
I wish I could get more ties for Christmas. Really!
I wish there were more heroes.

I hope to get snow.
I hope to get rid of snow shortly thereafter.
I hope for pumpkin roll.

I wish childless couples could get their wish.
I wish parentless children could get their wish.
I wish parents and children would appreciate each other more.

I wish for food for the hungry, warmth for those who are cold.
I wish for homes for those without and toys for all.
I wish I would act on my wishes and not just wish them.

I wish you a Merry Christmas.

Also at the party my Grandpa made these wooden vials for all the priesthood holders in our family. The wood from these vials is made of wood from the Smith farm in New York, the Sacred Grove, and other well known Church History sites. They held oil for blessings. The oil still needed to be consecrated, so my grandpa invited all the Melchizedek Priesthood holders to come up to help consecrate the oil for blessing the sick and afflicted. Dave was able to go up and bless the oil.
In that circle of worthy men, Dave felt the awesome power the priesthood could have. He felt Christ's love for everyone. Dave was touched with the spirit of Christmas and the true love of Christ.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas full of Charity, Love, Happiness and the wonderful light of Christ. God bless you.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

So Dave is going to be an Architect. I think a wonderful vacation would be to see some of the great buildings, castles, structures in the World. Including but not limited to:

Palacio de Las Artes Reina Sofía in Valencia, Spain

Machu Picchu in Urubamba Valley, Peru

The Great Wall of China in... um... China

The Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Buckingham Palace in London, England

The Taj Mahal in Agra, India

The Coliseum in Rome, Italy

The Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy

Eiffel Tower in Paris, France

The Louvre in Paris, France

Falling Water in Mill Run, Pennsylvania

Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, CA

And of course, all of the wonderful Smithsonians, the White House, the Chrysler Building, the Statue of Liberty, the Space Needle... etc in America. I think we need to make a big long trip to New York (and surrounding areas) and Washington DC and Seattle to cover some of the other cool American Architecture.

Also, one other dream trip. I would love to research the Bible and find out everywhere Jesus walked and walk where He walked. That would be amazing. However, it's a little dangerous over there, so maybe we'll wait for the Second Coming for that vacation. :o)

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Dave and I kinda have a dream of owning a miniature farm. We want mini horses, goats and pigs. With the mini horses, I want to start a photography business where we dress up little kids and babies in cowboy stuff and have them ride and sit by the mini horses who are all decked out in tack. So dang cute!

So this is the smallest horse in the world and he was born this may. He looks so dang cute! I would love this little guy as a pet! He was born 14 inches tall and 6 pounds! Smaller than some human babies!

Also, with our miniature farm, we want to own Gladiator Danes, or Daniffs. These are Great Dane/Mastiff dogs. They can get HUGE! We thought that it would be fun to have all these miniature animals and then have a HUGE dog...

So I found out that I never have pictures of JUST me. I'm always with someone. But this is the summer of 2008 right before I met Dave. I was working on a cattle/guest ranch all summer long. This is my friend Emilee and I believe we were at Mud Lake at a Rodeo.

So pretty much I wish I still looked like that. I was so super tan and working on a ranch all summer made me loose some weight, so I was looking pretty good. My hair was nice and long and almost my natural color too.

That's me two years ago!

Here's Dave two years ago. This is in May of 2008. Dave was living in Down Under and working, so he was able to grow some sweet facial hair.

He is pretty excited to graduate from BYU-I so he doesn't have to shave anymore. He says that he is growing a neck beard. I told him I wouldn't kiss him if he grew a neck beard. I think I only encouraged him, though.

So money isn't an issue, right? Well, it would be with Dave, of course.

Sometimes I think that my perfect date would be going to Wingers and ordering whatever we wanted and then snuggling with Dave in the movie theater with an awesome movie playing. Call me simple minded, but sometimes all I need is to have Dave with me. I'm a quality time type of girl and so this sounds good to me.

But in reality, I would love to go horseback riding in the summer, deep sea fishing or crabbing in the spring, snowboarding and a sleigh ride in the winter, and for a long peaceful fourwheeler ride in the mountains in the fall. So one of those would be a perfect date. With Dave.

So really, any fun activity where I got to spend some good time and some good laughs with Dave would be an ideal date.

But I wouldn't say no to Paris, a Cruise, Hawaii, or something equally exotic.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

At the Christmas party last night all of the employees received a box of chocolates. I love chocolate!

Wondering why they are all cracked and half bitten into? Well, about that....
I love chocolate, but I'm pretty picky about what goes into my chocolate. I don't like all the mushy coconut, fake chocolate, fruity yuckiness that you find in many chocolates. So I have to break them apart and see whats in them before I eat them. Dave doesn't mind eating the broken ones.... :o)

So I guess this isn't just a picture of me, it's of me and Dave over the Fourth of July. I really like this picture of us. We look so content and happy to be together. I am always so happy to be with Dave. Time with him over the past couple of weeks has been somewhat limited and I am thankful for every second I have with him.

I was supposed to post this yesterday... already a day behind on my 30 day blog challenge. Whoops! Oh well. So I guess I will tell you how my day was yesterday.

I was really glad it was Friday. It had been a long week at work. I was talking to Dave about it and I realized that School did terrible things to me. School trained me to expect my life to be turned upside down every three months. Just when you get used to all your classes, all of the people you see, all of the activity... it ends and you start a whole new schedule and a whole new life. So, here I am. I have worked at my job for 3 months now.... and I'm ready for a change. Terrible, I know!! So while I'm trying to get over being sick of my job, it was a slow week.
Our company party was that night though, so I had something to look forward to all day long. We were going to Mountain River Ranch! Everybody knows how much I love this place. It's my home away from home. I worked there for about four years. From age 15 to 19. I love the people there and I love the energy and the Christmas spirit. So I was so happy to go there!
When we got there I got to see alot of people that I knew and loved and of course I got to eat first and I got called on stage. It was such an amazing night of laughter and Christmas cheer. And of course, the prime rib was amazing!!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

I'm taking on a challenge...a 30 day blog challenge. For the next 30 days (starting tomorrow) I will be blog about something everyday. Hopefully I will stick with it!

Day 1 - A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.
Day 2 - A photo of something you ate today.
Day 3 - Your idea of the perfect date.
Day 4 - Your favorite photograph of you and your best friend.Day 5 - A photo of yourself two years ago.
Day 6 - A photo of an animal you'd love to keep as a pet.
Day 7 - Your dream vacation.
Day 8 - A song to match your mood.
Day 9 - A photo of the item you last purchased.
Day 10 - A photo of your favorite place to eat.
Day 11 - What's in your makeup bag.
Day 12 - A photograph of the town you live in.
Day 13 - Your favorite musician and why?
Day 14 - A TV show you're currently addicted to.
Day 15 - Something you don't leave the house without.
Day 16 - Your celebrity crush.
Day 17 - A photo of you and your family.
Day 18 - Something you crave a lot.
Day 19 - Another picture of yourself.
Day 20 - The meaning behind your blog name.
Day 21 - A photo of something that makes you happy.
Day 22 - 15 facts about you.
Day 23 - A photo of something that means a lot to you.
Day 24 - What's in your purse?
Day 25 - A photo of somewhere you've been to.
Day 26 - A picture of you last year and now and how you changed since then?
Day 27 - Your favorite movie.
Day 28 - Something you could never get tired of doing.

Day 29 – 10 things that you are thankful for
Day 30 - A photograph of yourself today + three good things that have happened in the past 30 days

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

So my work is coming out with a weight reduction program and they are testing it on the employees. Lucky me! Haha... So for the month of December (yes... including Christmas... unfortunately..) I am on this pretty strict diet. (Only we're not allowed to call it a "diet" because that has bad connotations) Here is what it consists of:

I am not sure if I am going to couple this with an exercise program or not. Because of the extremely low caloric intake, if I start exercising more, my body might go into starvation mode and store fat instead of loose it. I think I might try just doing the diet and next month couple it with exercise if I didn't get to my goal.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

It was so super fun and I got a great deal on tickets! It was so much warmer than we expected it to be. (You never know what the weather is going to be like in the middle of October around here) We loved riding all of the rides and walking around. I loved watching people. That's what I do.

Here we are at the start of the day. It was a good idea that we got up semi early and went. It started getting SUPER busy towards the end.

I think the Colossus is one of my favorite rides. Also, I love Wicked! It is so super fast and you go straight up, and then straight down! It's awesome!

So I don't think that I can handle a full day of rides like I used to be able to. My legs got shaky towards the last and it was hard to walk after we got off the rides. Haha! So much fun, though!!

It was semi cold so there wasn't a line for Cliff Hanger (which has some water) so Dave rode it twice. I would have rode it too, but someone had to hold all our cell phones, cameras, keys, etc. And I didn't want to get too wet, either.

Getting ready to go!!

Here is a fun movie of the ride.

Dave is all wet getting off the ride!

It was such a fun day! I loved just being with Dave and not having to worry about a time schedule or anything like that. We just hung out and did whatever we wanted! It was awesome!

So Lagoon was my idea, so I told Dave that dinner was up to him. All he told me about dinner was that I had to bring some church clothes. Little did I know how much he had planned for me!

So we went back to our hotel with enough time to get cleaned up and dressed in our fancy clothes. I have no idea about any of the layout of SLC, so Dave had an easy job of getting me lost. Next thing I know, we are in a parking garage.
We head into the building and I find out that it's the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. I had no idea what we were doing there.
When we were about to get on the elevator, I saw a sign that said "The Roof Restaurant" so I assumed that's where we were going, but I had no idea what was in store for me.

We walked in and I instantly understood why we had to dress up. I would have felt out of place if I had worn pants there. As we walked in, the hostess explained that this was a buffet, so please, help ourselves. But save room for dessert, that's the best part. So we were seated and not too long after that, a manager lady came and told us that we needed to be moved to have a better view of the temple. I was impressed and thought that Dave had slipped her a $20, but he claims that he didn't.
When we got to our new seats, I was dumbfounded. The temple was so close and so beautiful. I couldn't stop staring at it.
Like a dummy, I thought that we were just going to dinner, so I left my camera in the car. I really wish that I would have ran down to get it, but these pictures are right about where we were sitting and you can see how amazing the temple is from our table.

It was so amazing.

We definitely got our moneys worth in food, too. Dave and I both went back for fourths on the main meal and at least seconds on the dessert. We ate until we were quite literally very sick. It was awesome.

We got back to our hotel and did absolutely nothing. I felt like I was going to burst. It was such an amazing night.

All in all, it was the most awesome wedding anniversary that I have ever had. I don't think we'll be able to top it next year, but we'll sure as heck try!! :o)

In a year we have done so many things. This first year of marriage has been the best year of our lives. (Except Dave says that the first year he was alive was the another best year of his life. All he had to do was eat, sleep, poop, cry and giggle.) I love being married and I know Dave feels the same. We get along so well and any tussles or arguments that we have are short and minor. Most of the time we just wrestle it out and it's all good. Here is a little review of our last year...

We moved into our cute one bedroom basement apartment. It felt like home. We belonged there.

We finished a semester at school and were then blindsided by the economy and lack of jobs.

We were jobless for about a month. Dave searched for an internship and I was desperate for anything.

Dave found an internship at JHS Architects in Pocatello.Which was a miracle, because everywhere he had applied to had almost laughed at him when he applied. The economy was down and times were tough for architects.

A month later I found a designing job at South Industries which was a miracle because everywhere I had applied to had almost laughed at me when I applied. The economy was down and times were tough for contractors.

We moved from our cozy little downstairs apartment to our larger upstairs apartment. It has two bedrooms, a washer and dryer and a dishwasher. I thought that this was going to be an exceptional move, but we still miss our little #5 apartment. But #1 is starting to feel more and more like home as well.
With this move we took on the manager position for our little 8-plex. Mostly our job is to get $50 bucks taken off our rent, fill apartments, clean apartments, help everyone who locked themselves out, water the lawn, snow removal... etc.

We both started school in the spring. Dave finished his internship and I continued to work with Souths part time. Dave started working on the BYU-I grounds crew.

I graduated from college with a 3.475 GPA in July. It was a wonderful experience. I loved it.

South Industries cut their crew back to just family. I was jobless... again. Perfect timing, just when I graduated and right about when we started getting really desperate for some $$$ again... jeeze.

Dave started his last semester in the Architecture program at BYU-I.

We received a check in the mail for $2,500 dollars for Dave's damaged fingers. God loves us.

Dave found work with TJ which saved our lives. I tell him every day not to hurt himself... unless it's big enough to get workman's comp. :o)

I was hired as a customer service representative at JD Premium which I love. The people are awesome and I've been given some design opportunities here as well and it is just fantastic.

Dave gets the awesome opportunity to be the first class to graduate in the new BYU-I Auditorium. He is also on the 2 year construction/architecture team and gets to travel to Orlando FL in January for his competition.

1st funny story: Our wedding money got us through that month. We had enough money to pay our bills and not a penny more. Thank heavens for the blessings of tithing. A few funny stories that I would like to document about my new experiences of paying bills: I had never paid a bill before in my life. I didn't have a credit card, I didn't spend money I didn't have (except if the money was my dad's... thanks daddy!!). So when we started getting all these bills in the mail, I started realizing that they needed to be paid. So I lined them all up on the floor and then took out our wedding money. I started counting out all the money we needed and putting it in piles on top of the bills. When I discovered that we had just barely enough, I started stuffing the money inside the envelopes and getting ready to send the bills in. Dave looked over at me and asked me what I was doing. I told him that I was paying our bills. Then he started laughing. He said "Karlee... you can't pay bills with cash. I don't even think they would accept that." I was dumbfounded. EVERYONE takes cash... I thought. Guess not. (I'm much better at paying bills now...)

2nd funny story (funny now... not so funny then): During the tight time right after we got married and right after we paid our bills and right after we finished school and right BEFORE we got jobs... money was scarce. And by scarce, I mean scary scarce. I came home from job hunting one day and realized we didn't have any groceries. So I checked our bank account and we definitely didn't have enough money to get any groceries. I decided that we would just go get a $5 dollar pizza and hopefully we could squeeze a few meals out of it. (I obviously didn't know Dave as well as I do now...) So I started looking around for money. I didn't have any cash, Dave didn't have any cash, I couldn't find any spare wedding money. I looked through all the cards again and nothing was there.
I was distraught and frustrated that I couldn't find 5 measly dollars to use to buy a disgusting pizza. Finally I started digging through the couches, through our change jars and through our cars. I found 6 dollars in change. We went out and bought that pizza and it was gross.
But I stuck it to the man. The man who made it so we didn't have any money. Boy, was he ever sorry he made us poor...

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Dave and I went to his boss's house to have dinner and watch a movie. We were excited to go over and hang out with their cute family. I made dinner rolls to take over there and we were going to have roast. Yummy!
Well, after dinner we were just sitting around the table talking. Dave and his boss TJ were trying to convince me to watch a scary movie. I was not thinking this was a good idea. I don't handle scary movies very well. I asked Dave to pass the water and fill up my glass. After he had filled it up, he was setting it down and accidentally knocked over TJ's empty glass. I started teasing Dave a little bit about how we have a spill every meal and how it's like I married a little kid. I reached over and touched Dave's face and told him I was glad that I married a little kid. Well, when I pulled my arm away to set it down, I knocked over my FULL glass of water all over my lap and all over the floor. After I mopped up their floor, my jeans were so soaked that I had to come home and put my jeans in the dryer.

Whose the kid now?

I know I get what I deserve, but I didn't expect the repercussions to happen so quickly.

Monday, October 11, 2010

A year ago I was making sure my nails were done, my hair was dyed, my eyebrows plucked.

I was trying oh so hard to shed an extra two pounds.

I drank Mt. Dew so it made those extra two pounds impossible to shed.

A year ago, I was praying for comfort. I was praying that this leap of faith would lead to a good life.

A year ago, I went to the temple for the first time.
I wanted to get my endowments done in the Idaho Falls temple so that all would be in order for our wedding.
Dave and I drove to the temple together.
I forgot my temple recommend on my desk.
I freaked out
Dave and I turned around and went back to Rexburg to get my recommend.
My dear roommate Stephanie brought it to me.
We hurried back to Rigby. My mom took us from there.
My mom calmed me down.
Crisis Averted.
I was able to focus on the temple
I wondered if my Dad and my big brother would make it there in time.
Austin shot an elk that night. They had to leave it in order to make it to the temple on time.
I wanted/needed them there.
Time stood still so they could make it.
They made it. It was a miracle.
I went through the temple and cried. Dave cried. My mom might have cried.

I felt peace.

A year ago, we made sure we had everything ready for the reception.
Mom ordered doughnuts
Mom made gallons of hot fudge
Mom made the center pieces
Mom adjusted my dress
Mom made sure the gym was reserved
Mom worked on all of the decorations
Mom bought frames, flowers, bowls, plates...

Mom was/is/forever will be my hero.

I made sure my dress fit just right.

A year ago, I was doing homework like crazy. I was missing school for my three day honeymoon, so I needed to get it done.

A year ago, I was getting ready for a very important day in my life.

A year ago, I had no idea what the next year had in store for me.

A year ago, I didn't know I was going to have the best year of my life.

A year ago... I was four days away from getting married to my very best friend.